Domestic wood dealers have a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to forecasting how wood markets will perform in 2010. The majority of suppliers agree that wood markets have bottomed out and may actually be slightly on the rise. But any mention of a substantial rally taking place was greeted cautiously by even the most optimistic of dealers. One bright spot - or maybe just a glimmer - is the soft maple market. The lumber retails on average up to $1.50/bf less than hard maple and dealers report fair-to-good sales.

The future of butternut's health remains bleak as the butternut canker disease continues to spread through its growing range. It appears that butternut's fate may be the same as the elm, which was devastated by Dutch elm disease, and chestnut, the victim of chestnut blight.